Fairbanks & Cole (f&c) Banjorine (banjeaurine) Banjo

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Fairbanks & Cole (f&c) Banjorine (banjeaurine) Banjo : $325

F&C banjorine parts kit. 12-3/8" spunover rim,19*7/8" scale. Rim has no cracks or delamination in the wood, and the metal wrap is in good condition with a few dents and good plating with some tarnish. The shoes all match and appear to be original with good plating. Because of compression and shrinkage of the rim over the 100+ years of this instruments life has produced a condition where most of the shoes can't be screwed down tight, in fact many of the screws show distorted slots in the tightening direction. This is easy to remedy by either grinding a little off the end of the shoe (invisible when assembled) or by adding shims under the screw ( 3/8 X 1/4 shim washers in a wide range of thickness are available from McMaster-Carr). I have chosen to leave them original, although if I were assembling it to play I would grind the ends of the shoes and call it good. The stick is stamped "Fairbanks & Cole/makers/ Boston, Mass. The stick and rim are both stamped with the serial number 4554. The neck is mahogany and the fretboard and peghead overlay are both rosewood. The peghead overlay is very thin and has a chip on one side near the nut. The fretboard is very worn in the lower positions, as are the frets. There are a number of simple sawcut inlays, which are in good condition with no cracks. Then fretboard extension has been broken off and badly reglued, and the heel has a small crack just above the fretboard. The fifth string tuner hole appears to have been enlargedto fit a modern tuner. The hooks and nuts are in good condition with good plating. Some are bent but could be easily straightened. There are only 18 of the required 30. The tension hoop is in good condition, but shows signs of having the head replaced a number of times. The neck brace is from a different banjo, but of the correct type. It is slightly wider than the slot in the neck, so either the slot will ave to be widened or the neck brace ground to fit, or the home-made neck brace that came with the instrument can be used. The original flesh hoop, a 16" medium thickness calfskin head, a set of 4 friction tuners and an arm rest are included. There is no end bolt, hanger bolt, tailpiece, bridge,or fifth string tuner. . If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.